Kyocera Corporation (NYSE: KYO), which is already one of the largest solar manufacturers in Japan, is planning to to build a new solar cell manufacturing facility in Yasu City, Shiga Prefecture. It will be the Kyocera Group's largest manufacturing facility in Japan.
Construction of the plant is planned to start in early 2009 and be completed by year's end, with production scheduled to begin in the spring of 2010.
Combined with Kyocera's existing Yohkaichi plant, the new facility will permit the company to more than double its annual production of solar cells--from this year's projected output of 300 megawatts (MW) to 650 MW by March 2012.
The new plant will manufacture Kyocera's new back-contact cell, which yields 18.5% energy conversion efficiency, according to the company.
Kyocera is fully integrated manufacturer of solar modules, managing the entire production process from procuring and casting raw silicon to producing solar cells and assembling ready-to-install solar modules.
